Canada Takes Stand Against Poaching With Provocative Campaign

Alberta, Canada - With the onset of hunting season, people are giddy for this year's harvest. But during this time something else is also top of mind at non-profit Alberta Conservation Association-poaching. Canadian Geographicsuggests that fewer than 10% of poaching cases are detected; if we extrapolate that from information supplied by Alberta Fish and Wildlife (293 poachers arrested in 2011), that means there were an estimated 2,930 poaching events...or 8 per day.

There are still seven major unsolved cases from 2011...rather alarming. This case from only last month involving 131 poaching charges is particularly disturbing.

It was time to take a stand. Meet My Meat's Legal. It's for everyone who respects wildlife. It not only allows respectful and law-abiding hunters and anglers to be proud, but also provides all people who enjoy the outdoors with a way to say no to those who illegally take the life of an animal, traffic it on the black market or leave it to waste. The slogan is cheeky and in-your-face to encourage our younger generations to partake in the anti-poaching message. Initiating conversation is an essential component of the My Meat's Legal movement.

T-shirts displaying the slogan on the front and Report A Poacher logo on the arm are being sold with all proceeds going back into the Report A Poacher program. Anyone can wear the t-shirt-you don't have to hunt or fish. If you spend any time at all in the outdoors you can note suspicious activity. After all, our wild backyard belongs to everyone.

Alberta Conservation Association and its partners have conserved 285,000 acres in Alberta for free public access, where hunting and fishing opportunities exist (with the appropriate licenses and tags) as well as foraging for mushrooms, berries and nuts. ACA's mission is to conserve, protect and enhance fish and wildlife habitat for all Albertans to respectfully enjoy, value and use.